Mat Lit

Always solid takeout here. My favorite by far is the house special tofu, which has an addictive savory and sweet sauce. The tofu melts in your mouth satisfyingly. Black bean fish fillet was also tender and classic. Portions are pretty big — four dishes with rice filled four people and there was a lot leftover.

Benjamin Ferri

Last stop before SFO airport. After a long day of driving, we were desperate for a hot meal and Chef Zhao delivered with fresh authentic restaurant quality food disguised in a counter kitchen atmosphere. We started with pork dumplings served in a warm broth with scallions. Dumplings were clearly hand-rolled and fresh with flavorful broth. Our entrees were shrimp Chow Mein and spicy beef with napa cabbage. The spicy sauce for the beef was so delicious, I had to order an extra side of rice to eat it all up! The chow Mein had a lot of fresh veggies and the shrimp were cooked perfectly. Paying was a cinch too, as all I had to do was scan the QR and then paid for the bill online. Servers were very friendly and our food came out quickly. What a great way to end our California trip. Thank you!

+2

Joshua Yuan

Food is yummy and comes out quickly. No wait or reservation needed for my family of 5 to be seated at one of their large tables on a Saturday evening. The staff are attentive and friendly. This interior is a pretty normal casual Chinese restaurant. Not too upscale but spacious enough and still cozy. Seems to get a lot of customers too.

+6

Emily Liu

Excellent and highly authentic Shanghainese cuisine. Highly highly recommend the pan fried fish. It is so crispy and flavorful and definitely the highlight of the meal. Every dish was very authentic and yummy. The pan fried buns were very juicy, very delicious. They were fried with the top side down in authentic fashion. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area. Pretty speedy and good service too.

+2

JP

If you are Shanghainese and suddenly get a craving for the food you grew up with, Chef Zhao is definitely worth a try. Overall, it is above average for Shanghainese food in the Bay Area. The flavors are authentic enough to remind you of home, even if they aren't "surprising" or innovative.

Tommy Tang

Food was delicious there, the service staffs were upbeat and fast, just slightly rude and weird trying to ask us to left right after we paid even we were still eating and drinking.

Krystal

Got chicken fried rice, it was quite good. Nothing groundbreaking but good food. The space is pretty classic, also nothing particular. There was one very friendly shorter gentleman server, that was very welcoming. Other servers were okay. All around decent place.

Matthew Thomas

Went here after orange theory. It was nice to have pork ribs and fried rice. My wife had the noodles; she said it was a bit soggy but the flavor was good.

Erick Tseng

Solid Chinese fare hidden away in a little strip mall outside of downtown Palo Alto. The restaurant interior is basic, but the food is worth the trip. Their soup dumplings were great. The pan fried dumplings were okay. I thought the bun dough was a bit thick. The pork ribs were great. The Mongolian beef lacked spice and heat. The combo fried rice was straightforward. Service was straightforward - polite but nothing stellar.

+2

Kira Code

The food is really close to salty pallet ( Shanghai cousin) . We really enjoyed the food. Meet with mushroom was tender and dumplings were juicy with thin skins. We also loved a steamed dumplings , also juicy and thin skins! Appreciate it! In the morning there are people waiting, but line goes quickly. We had 4 dishes for 65 $ . We took some food home.

Michelle Y

Overall, the food was good and service is quick. Very authentic Shanghai food, especially recommend 生煎包 and 响油鳝糊. The wonton was okay. However, they missed a dish when help us take out the rest of unfinished food. Minus one star.

+3

Vijay Dubey

Only had vegetarian food so this review is not applicable to meat items. Party of six, ordered 2 appetizers, 3 curries, 1 noodle dish, 1 fried rice, and a soup. Ambience - okay. Food - okay. Some items were good but nothing too special or worth repeat ordering. Fried rice was too bland. Noodle was okay and one of the chef special tofu dish was good too. Service - worst part of the whole experience. Didn’t feel welcomed at all. I get it, it was New Year’s Eve but they were open by choice. We ordered everything at once to be considerate that it was the last hour. Things started to come, appetizer came the second last and soup was the last item to be served . Oh sorry, we got the water after that, that’s too after a reminder. Silverware also after a couple of reminders. No follow up at all. In Fact they were not serving the dishes just leaving there as if we are being paid. Since it was a party of six, 20% tip was already added and may be that’s why no service ar all and 2.5% for credit card fee. Restrooms - very slippery, safety hazard. Not stepping foot in this place ever again. Best of luck to the owners for the new year.

Victoria Zhao

The food is basically good. But I received bad and rude services from the tall lady. She even shows displeasure when I’m taking the sauce from the open area table. She told me not to take the sauce. The way this was handled made me feel unwelcome and uncomfortable, and it took away from what could have been an enjoyable meal. I feel disappointed and mistreated since I am the frequent visitor of this restaurant. I have to eat while watching the waitress’s face. Still paid the high tip but they don’t have any service at all. You need to refill the water by yourself.

Luke Lang

Dishonest business - charged a hidden 2% fee for a printed receipt. This is against the law (SB 478 effective 7/1/24). In terms of the food, the pan-fried buns were served less than 30 seconds after ordering. That means it was not freshly prepared. The smoked fish was served with all the bad pieces of the fish (mostly bones with little meat). The yellow croaker was excellent, and the mini wonton was pretty good. I don't trust this business and will not visit again.